South Dakota lawmakers revive bill decried by LGBTQ groups

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Republican lawmakers have revived a proposed law that would have banned people from changing the sex designation on their birth certificates. A House committee earlier rejected the bill that LGBTQ advocates decried as an attack on transgender people.

Republicans in the House forced the bill to be brought to a vote by the full House through a rarely used legislative procedure known as a “smoke out.” Bills that affect transgender people have become a perennial topic in the South Dakota legislature, although transgender advocates say they are making progress and are getting their voices heard.